


I Like Being On Top

by ukulelekatie



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, College, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Fluff, Roommates, Sharing a Bed, bunk beds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-08 13:46:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18624478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ukulelekatie/pseuds/ukulelekatie
Summary: Laura is excited to move into her new dorm room at Silas University and meet her new roommate, Betty. But things quickly turn from top to bottom when she finds out that Betty's plans have changed and Laura is forced to share a bunk bed with Carmilla, the roommate from hell.(AU where Laura and Carmilla's room has bunk beds)





	I Like Being On Top

“Okay, Hollis. Freshman year officially starts now.”

 

Laura wiped sweat from her brow as she placed one last book onto her now neatly organized bookshelf. Pleased with herself, she stood back and marveled at her newly decorated dorm room, which had only hours ago been nearly empty, save for two desks, an armoire, and a set of bunk beds. Finally, after hours of hard work and an emotional goodbye from her father, it was cozy and full of life.

 

She climbed up the ladder to the top bunk and plopped down onto the bed she had made earlier that day—a task which turned out to be quite the ordeal at such a height, she had learned. But that was a caveat she was willing to deal with in exchange for finally fulfilling one of her life-long dreams. Laura had longed for bunk beds for as long as she could remember, but as an only child, she never had the need for them. Not to mention that even if she did have a sibling, her dad would have never allowed something as unsafe as bunk beds in their home. He nearly had a heart attack when she informed him of her sleeping arrangements for college, and Laura had to reassure him several times while they were moving her in that no, she did not want to swap for the bottom bunk, and yes, she would be very careful getting in and out of bed.

 

Breathing in and out deeply, Laura allowed her sore muscles to relax while she took in the familiar scent of her dad’s laundry detergent brand. As she sunk into the mattress, reality also sunk in: This was her home now. And it was finally starting to feel like it.

 

She pulled her phone from her pocket, hoping to find a text from her new roommate, Betty, about when she would arrive. They had been texting back and forth all summer, and Laura couldn't take the anticipation of meeting her face to face any longer. But when she pressed the lock button and looked at the screen, all she saw was a message from her dad:

 

**Dad:** Good luck, sweetie! I am so proud of you, and I know you will do amazing things.

P.S. Don’t fall out of your bunk bed!

 

The message made Laura grin. She tapped out a quick reply to her dad, locked her phone, and slipped it back into her pocket.

 

Seconds later, there was a knock on the door. Laura’s heart began to race in excitement at the possibility of seeing her new roommate for the first time. “Come in!” she called out.

 

The door opened, revealing a young woman standing in the doorway. Whoever it was, it wasn’t Betty. The first thing Laura noticed was her mop of red curls. The second thing was the plate of cookies she was holding. They smelled heavenly.

 

Her guest smiled, setting the plate of cookies down at her desk. “Hello, dear! My name is Lola Perry, and I’ll be your floor don for this year. Just checking in to introduce myself and to see if you have any questions about residence life here on Floor 3 of Crowley Hall” she said, her curls bouncing wildly around her face as she spoke. “You must be Laura Hollis, correct?”

 

“Yes, that’s right,” Laura replied. “It’s so nice to meet you. And thanks for the cookies!”

 

“My pleasure,” Lola said. “There’s plenty more where that came from. Feel free to stop by my room any time—it’s 301, down at the end of the hall. I’m sure my roommate LaFontaine would love to meet you as well. I have a feeling they’ll absolutely adore you. Oh, we are going to have so much fun this semester! I have got all sorts of programs and events planned for the whole floor.”

 

“That sounds lovely! I’m so excited to meet my hallmates,” Laura said cheerfully.

 

“Once everyone is all moved in, there will be time to get together and do some icebreaker activities to kick off the year. Well, let me know if you need anything, Laura! My door is always open. And welcome to Silas!”

 

And just like that, the floor don left, leaving Laura alone once again.

 

She laid back down, finally realizing how tired she was from all the moving in and unpacking she had done that day. Soon enough, she began to doze off.

 

But before she could fall asleep, the sound of the door creaking open again brought her back to reality. Laura excitedly sat up in bed, nearly hitting her head on the ceiling, and leaned over the side of the bed to get a glimpse at who was entering the room. “Betty?” She called out.

 

She was expecting the tall blonde girl she had seen in photos, but was instead met with a short, lithe young woman in a grungy black band t-shirt. She dragged a very large olive green duffel bag through the doorway and dropped it into the center of the room.

 

In that moment, Laura’s stomach dropped. She climbed out of bed, meeting the girl face to face. “Excuse me, but who are you?” She asked.

 

“Carmilla,” the girl answered. “I’m your new roommate, sweetheart.”

 

Laura stood there briefly, befuddled by the news. “I’m sorry, I think you might be mistaken. This is room 307. The sign on the door clearly says ‘ _Laura and Betty_ ’, and I’m Laura, and you’re not Betty, so... maybe you have the wrong room?”

 

“Well that’s interesting, because I have a letter from the Dean of Students that says I live here now. So perhaps you are the one who is mistaken,” Carmilla said, her voice smooth but husky with a hint of vocal fry.

 

Laura watched in shock as Carmilla unzipped the duffel bag she had dropped onto the floor and pulled out a bulky speaker, which she immediately plugged in and began blasting the most obnoxious rock song Laura had ever heard. But what shocked her even more was that Carmilla made her way over to the beds and climbed the ladder to the top, where she sprawled out on the mattress. And the worst part? She didn’t even take off her shoes first.

 

“What are you doing? That’s not yours.”

 

“Sorry, cutie, but I’ve always been a top bunk kind of gal. I hope you don’t mind.”

 

“Um, actually, I _do_ mind. I was there first.”

 

“Well, this is also my room now too, don’t you think I should also have some sort of a say in who takes which bunk?”

 

“Betty and I already agreed that I would take the top bunk and she would take the bottom, so you better get the hell out before I call—”

 

“Oh please,” Carmilla scoffed. “As if the housing department is going to care. They’ve got more important business to take care of, like giant mushrooms suddenly spawning in the shower stalls, or the gaping hole that the Zetas knocked through the wall of the lounge at their welcome back party, or whatever orders the Dean gives them. Now be a nice, welcoming little roommate and let me have the top bunk.”

 

Laura stood her ground, placing her hands on her hips. “No,” she said. “I _like_ being on top.”

 

Carmilla smirked, and Laura’s ears turned red as she realized her accidental innuendo. “Oh, I’m sure you do.”

 

“Ugh! That is not what I meant, and you know it,” she snapped.

 

Finally, Carmilla shrugged. “You win this round, cupcake. But I haven’t given up just yet. Don’t get too comfortable,” she said, as she climbed back down onto the ground.

 

“First of all, my name is _Laura,_ not whatever ridiculous nickname you feel like giving me. Second of all, _you_ better not get too comfortable, because this isn’t even your room!” she shouted over the noise of the blaring rock song.

 

Laura ascended the ladder back up to her top bunk and pulled the covers over her face, letting out a groan. First thing in the morning she’d head down to the office of the Housing Department and get this all sorted out. Carmilla would be sent on her merry way, and Betty would arrive,

and everything would be hunky-dory.

 

***

 

Everything was _not_ hunky-dory.

 

After waiting in the Housing Department office for over an hour, Laura was given a snippy answer about last minute rooming changes and a whole spiel about how roommate conflicts were “part of the college experience” and “a learning opportunity.”

 

Not long after that, she had received a text from Betty:

 

**Betty:** hey hollis! remember how i said i was waitlisted at Princeton? I got in last minute!!!!! so i won’t be going to Silas after all. sorry for bailing, hope they stick you with a good replacement roomie :)

 

She returned to her room just in time to find Lola at the door, tearing off her and Betty’s door decoration and replacing it with one that read “Laura and Carmilla”.  

 

“Oh, hello Laura!” Lola greeted her. “I hope you had a good first night in your new home. Did you sleep okay?”

 

Laura briefly considered telling Lola all about the constant obnoxious _thunk_ of Carmilla’s boots kicking against the bottom of her bunk that made it difficult for Laura to get to sleep, but the words of the Housing Department still echoed in her mind, and she decided not to rat out her roommate to the floor don on only the second day of university. “Not too bad, actually,” she said.

 

“I see you’ve met Carmilla. She’s quite the character, huh?” Lola asked.

 

“Oh, definitely! I can tell we’re going to get along just wonderfully,” Laura said through gritted teeth.

 

“Excellent! The bond between roommates is so special. Just ask LaFontaine—they’re my best friend!”

 

Laura forced a smile, and slipped back into her room.

 

She stepped onto the ladder and hoisted herself up onto the next rung, but paused when she peered over the side rail and saw the amorphous lump under the covers, There, in her bed, was Carmilla, fast asleep, with her head nestled into Laura’s favorite yellow pillow.

 

“Seriously?” she hissed. “Carmilla!”

 

Carmilla stirred, then stretched and reluctantly opened her eyes. “Hmm?” she asked, sleepily.

 

“What the hell are you doing in my bed?”

 

“I thought we established that this isn’t your bed,” Carmilla protested.

 

“Get. Out,” Laura ordered.

 

Carmilla raised her eyebrows and shrugged in defeat. Laura hopped down from the ladder, giving her roommate some space to climb down and relocate to the bottom bunk. Which she did, thankfully. But not without taking Laura’s yellow pillow with her.

 

***

 

The next day, Laura returned from her classes to find Carmilla in her bed again. This time with some random girl with pale blonde hair.

 

The two were sitting atop the comforter, giggling about something. When Laura got closer, she saw that Carmilla was holding the chore wheel Laura had made for them as the other girl was twirling the inner wheel around and around.

 

Laura was not amused. She stood at the base of the bunk beds, glaring up at the two girls with her arms crossed, not saying a word.

 

“Don’t be rude, cupcake. We have company,” she chided.

 

“ _We_ do not have company. _You_ invited some girl over, and you’re sitting in _my_ bed and playing with the chore wheel that you refuse to follow. Why do you insist on being the worst roommate ever?”

 

The other girl, sensing the tension in the room, gave Carmilla an apologetic look, and climbed out of bed and swiftly left the room.

 

“You’re not much better of a roommate, you know that? Look how you just treated my guest,” Carmilla said, snarkily. “We were studying.”

 

“Sure. _Studying_ ,” Laura said, making air quotes. “Do you even go to class? Because it seems like you’re always here, either sleeping or annoying me, or both at the same time. You and your little ‘study buddy’ can go suck face somewhere else. Perhaps the bottom bunk,” Laura suggested.

 

“Whatever,” Carmilla said, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed and climbing back down. “But have you ever been stuck on the top bunk with two people hooking up on the bed underneath you? You’re in for a bumpy ride. Trust me, creampuff, I’m doing you a favor here.”

 

Within seconds, Carmilla was out the door and following her ‘study buddy’ down the hall.

 

***

 

As the semester drew on, this became their routine. Laura would return home from classes each day and open the door to the sight of her roommate perched on the top bunk, usually with another girl, and Laura would shoo her and her guests away, but not before Carmilla made some snarky, wisecracking remark.

 

Then one day, everything changed.

 

Laura trudged across campus in the rain after a particularly rough morning. She had overslept and arrived late to class, received a bad mark on a quiz in another one of her classes, and on top of it all, had forgotten her umbrella at home that morning.

 

Finally, she reached her building and swiped her ID through the card reader on the door of their building, hearing the familiar click as it unlocked the door. She stepped inside and rode the elevator up to the third floor, dreading whatever teasing gibes she’d get from Carmilla, who would no doubt be on the top bunk with yet another random girl.

 

But to her surprise, the top bunk was empty and quiet when Laura entered the room. She was about to head to the armoire to grab a set of dry clothes to change into when suddenly, a book flew across the room, causing her to jump.

 

Laura would have thought that the book had thrown itself had she not heard the quiet sniffle coming from the bottom bunk. There, curled up into a ball with her back to the wall and her knees against her chest, was Carmilla. The girl’s hands were covering her face, pushing her bangs astray.

 

Laura approached the dark-haired girl, who glared back at her from the shadows.

 

“Carm?” She asked softly.

 

Carmilla didn’t answer, but Laura heard another faint sniffle.

 

Laura crossed the room to her desk and picked up a box of tissues. She returned to the beds and offered the tissues to her roommate, who hesitantly took one, bringing it up to her nose and blowing softly.

 

Laura lingered by the bed in silence, watching Carmilla blow her nose. Finally, she spoke up. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

 

This time, Carmilla spoke. “No.” Her voice was raspy and thick with tears.

 

Laura glanced at the empty space beside her “...Is it okay if I sit here?”

 

Carmilla looked up at her, blankly, but still scooted over a bit to make more room for Laura, who took it as a sign to sit beside her.

 

Laura sighed. “Look, you don’t have to talk, but I just want you to know that I’m here for you if you do want to talk. I know we haven’t exactly been the best of friends, but you’re my roommate, and roommates should support each other.”

 

Carmilla did not respond. Instead, they just sat there in silence. Seconds ticked by, and then grew into minutes. Finally, Carmilla took a deep breath. “It’s my mother.”

 

Laura shifted uncomfortably. “Is she okay?”

 

“She’s an asshole, that’s what she is,” Carmilla said, bitterly. “She found out about my schedule for the semester, and she isn’t exactly pleased at my choice of classes. I got a lecture about how she didn’t go out of her way to get me accepted here just for me to play around in frivolous subjects, and that I should have selected some more practical areas of study. How I’ll never amount to anything if I continue with philosophy or music.”

 

This was the first Laura had ever heard of Carmilla’s mother, or her intended majors. But somehow, both made sense. “Strict parents? I can relate,” Laura responded. Carmilla glanced at her, a look on her face that Laura couldn’t quite place. “Only child of an overprotective dad, remember?”

 

Carmilla looked away. “Yeah, except you have the privilege of getting away from your parent.”

 

“I... don’t understand,” Laura admitted. “Does your mother work here or something?”

 

Carmilla paused for a moment, staring Laura straight in the eyes. “Yeah. She’s the Dean.”

 

“Oh,” Laura whispered, at a loss for words.  

 

Carmilla exhaled and looked away. “She’s so hell-bent on controlling my life, every single one of my moves. It’s suffocating.”

 

Before Laura even realized what she was doing, her hand was reaching to the side until it settled on Carmilla’s thigh, fingertips gently resting against leather. “I’m really sorry, Carm. You deserve better,” she said softly.

 

Her roommate froze momentarily, staring off into space with an indiscernible expression on her face. But it vanished just as quickly as it appeared. “Thanks,” she said quietly.  

 

“And if it’s any consolation, I think it’s really cool that you’re into philosophy. And I had no idea you’re a musician.”

 

Carmilla let out a noise that fell somewhere between a sniffle and a chuckle. “I’m into a lot of things you don’t know about, creampuff.”

 

Laura wasn’t entirely sure how to proceed after that. “So, um, I didn’t have the greatest day either. But you know what usually cheers me up? Netflix and food. You wanna order delivery and watch a movie?”

 

The dark haired girl considered for a moment, but finally answered, “I suppose.”

 

Laura perked up. “Great! Let me go change out of these wet clothes first,” she said, hopping off the bed and running over to the armoire.

 

Moments later she emerged from the bathroom in an old, tattered t-shirt that was far too large for her tiny frame and a comfortable pair of sweatpants. She ascended the steps up to her bunk, where her laptop was waiting for her on top of the covers, then poked her head over the edge, leaning down to where Carmilla was still sitting shyly on the bottom bunk.

 

“Come on! What are you waiting for?”

 

Laura swore she saw the slightest gleam in Carmilla’s eyes as she stood up to relocate to the top bunk.

 

Once they both settled on the bed side by side, sitting cross-legged against the wall with Laura’s laptop in front of them, Laura pulled up the menu for her favorite pizza place in downtown Styria. They placed an order for an extra large pizza with pepperoni and sausage on one half for Carmilla and just pineapple on the other Laura.

 

Laura’s controversial choice of topping earned her a disgusted look from Carmilla. “What?” She said. “Pineapple on pizza is the best! It’s the perfect combination of sweet and savoury.”

 

“Fruit has no business being on pizza, buttercup,” Carmilla argued. “It’s just wrong.”

 

“Tomatoes are a fruit, those still go on pizza.”

 

“Whatever,” Carmilla shrugged, adding a side of cheesy garlic bread to the order. Laura then added a couple of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies for good measure.

 

With the pizza on its way, the two began browsing Netflix in search of something they’d both enjoy. Laura’s attempts at selling Carmilla on Doctor Who or Veronica Mars remained fruitless. Carmilla had no luck convincing Laura to watch a slasher film. Finally, after much bickering, Laura took control of the trackpad and selected _Adventure Time._

 

“Really? Cartoons?” Carmilla stared at her, unamused.

 

“Cartoons always help me cheer up when I’m feeling down. Besides, I think you’ll like this one.”

 

“Looks a little too quirky and childish for my tastes,” Carmilla muttered as the gentle strumming of ukulele filled the room and bright colors flashed before her eyes. “But I’ll watch under one condition: I get to pick what we watch next time.”

 

Laura tilted her head. “Next time?” She asked smugly.

 

“You heard what I said. Now shut up and let me watch this weird cartoon, cupcake.”

 

The first few minutes were torture. Carmilla kept asking questions and criticizing the logic of the show, and Laura attempted to frustratedly explain the premises of it multiple times to her. But as the minutes ticked by, Carmilla grew more and more invested. Laura even saw her smirk a few times.

 

Carmilla’s favorite character ended up being Marceline, something that did not surprise Laura at all.

 

“You know,” she said, “you kinda remind me of Marceline.”

 

Carmilla raised an eyebrow. “I don’t see it.”

 

Laura chuckled. “You’d make a pretty convincing vampire, at least.”

 

And so they watched episode after episode together, pausing only when the pizza arrived. Soon, Laura had completely forgotten about the horrible day she had had, and it seemed that Carmilla was cheering up as well.

 

Laura didn’t even notice the sky outside changing from brilliant orange to a dusky violet, but the next thing she knew, it was late. Like, really late. And it had been a long time since she had heard Carmilla make any snide comments.

 

She glanced over at her roommate, suddenly aware of how drastically they had changed their positions over the past few hours. While they had started out seated side by side with a considerable amount of space between them, they were now lying parallel to each other, propped up onto their arms in front of the laptop, touching shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip.

 

She paused the video.

 

“Carm?” she asked, gently nudging the girl.

 

“Mmm?” Carmilla purred.

 

“You still awake over there?” Laura cocked an eyebrow.

 

“No,” the girl beside her grumbled.

 

“I’m starting to get tired. How about we stop after this episode?”

 

Carmilla let out a big yawn. “Fine with me.”

 

Laura resumed the show, and they finished it in silence. Once the soft music of the closing credits began to play, she shut her laptop and turned to her roommate, who matched her gaze.

 

Carmilla swallowed hard. “Thanks for this, cupcake. I had a good time,” she admitted, before sliding her legs over the top of the ladder and climbing down. “Good night,” she added softly once she reached the bottom.

 

“Good night, Carm.” Laura let out a deep sigh as she drew back the covers and got into bed, soothed by the warmth that radiated from the blanket where Carmilla had been, and unnerved by how spacious the bed felt now that she had gone.

 

***

 

The next evening, Laura returned from her journalism class to find Carmilla sitting on her bed yet again. She was splayed out across the mattress, one leg dangling off the side, gently swinging back and forth. Her strappy leather combat boots were still on. Right then and there, Laura swore that she would flip if her roommate’s boots tracked even a single speck of dirt onto the duvet cover she had just washed the day before. She was _not_ going to deal with the laundry room again any time soon.

 

She stared up at the young woman, whose attention was clearly preoccupied by the black polish she was meticulously chipping from her nails. “Carm,” she began. “What are you doing on my bed _again?”_

 

“Thinking,” Carmilla replied, not bothering to looking away from her grubby fingernails. “Being up here seems to really clear my head.”

 

Laura shivered, suddenly realizing how sexy her roommate’s voice sounded, in all its raspy, purring glory, and shivered again at what she just realized.

 

She steeled herself. “Oh yeah?” She asked, leaving the conversation open for Carmilla to elaborate.

 

“Mm-hmm.”

 

“What are you thinking about?” Laura pressed.

 

“Oh, nothing. Just that I’d like to watch some more Netflix.”

 

Laura tilted her head. “It’s horror movie time already, huh?”

 

Carmilla’s lips tilted upward ever so slightly into a smile. “Actually, I was kind of hoping we could continue that show from last night.”

 

_Well, that was unexpected._

 

Laura smirked. “Aha! So you _do_ like it.”

 

“I didn't say that,” Carmilla protested. Nonetheless, she shifted on the bed to make room for Laura and promptly patted the empty space. “Come on, cutie.”

 

Laura grabbed her laptop from her backpack and passed it up to Carmilla, then climbed up the steps to join her.

 

Like the previous night, the rather stiff distance they kept between them gradually drifted to a more comfortable closeness with them both lying down on the mattress, heads cradled against Laura’s yellow pillow, laptop balancing on both their stomachs.

 

“You know,  this Bubblegum character is beginning to remind me of you,” Carmilla drawled sleepily as the closing credits played for the tenth time that night. They let the next episode play even though both of them had early classes the next morning.

 

“Hmm?” Laura replied, rubbing at her eyes.

 

Carmilla nodded. “Prissy, shrill voice, a total nerd,” she listed. Laura smacked her shoulder gently, but let the girl continue. “But also very sweet.”

 

Laura cocked an eyebrow. “That’s... really nice of you to say that,” she said hesitantly.

 

“Well, you compared me to Marceline last night,” Carmilla said. She paused, letting out a yawn. “I’m beginning to see the parallels between her and me, but also between them and us.”

 

_Us._ The word echoed in Laura’s mind.

 

“Okay, not to spoil anything, but you know Marcy and PB are...”  Laura looked over at her roommate, but to her surprise the girl’s eyes were closed and her breathing had deepened. “...Carm?” She whispered.

 

No response. Carmilla was asleep.

 

Laura lay there for a moment, assessing the situation while trying not to pay too close attention to how beautiful the girl looked as she slept. She could wake her roommate, but disturbing her peaceful slumber seemed unnecessary. Waking Carmilla to get her out of the bed would require Laura to move too, and she growing far too tired for that. There was plenty of room in the bed, anyway--with Carmilla curled up against the wall, Laura could lay beside her comfortably. So comfortably...

 

With a sigh, Laura set her laptop aside and pulled the covers over herself and Carmilla, actively choosing to ignore the part of her who yearned to shift even closer to the other girl.

 

***

 

“And you didn’t kick her out of your bed?”

 

“No! I guess I was just too tired to bother,” Laura said, shoving another forkful of blueberry pie into her mouth.

 

Lafontaine gave her a quizzical look from across the table. “Are you sure you and the broody one aren’t dating? Because it sure sounds like it.”

 

“ _Lafontaine,_ ” Perry scolded them, “You can’t just ask people things like that, it’s invasive and rude. But yes, Laura, it definitely sounds like you and Carmilla are becoming more than friends, which I fully support by the way, but as your floor don I’m going to have to remind you about our hall’s quiet hours, and our policies regarding public--”

 

“Whoa, whoa!” Laura cut Perry off. “Carm and I are _not_ dating. And she was up and out of the room by the morning anyway. The first time she’s ever been awake before me.”

 

“I’m just saying, it took Per and me months before either of us were brave enough to make the first move, and you already have a girl sleeping in your bed. You’ve got game, Frosh.”

 

“Completely platonic bed sharing! Like a sleepover. That’s what friends do. That’s all we are. Platonic buddies.”

 

“More like gal pals.”

 

“Nothing has happened between me and Carmilla,” Laura snapped. She slammed her fist down a little too hard, sending her fork flying a few inches off the surface of the table. “If anything does, which it won’t, you’ll be the first to know,” she said, her voice calmer and a little quieter this time.

 

Lafontaine chuckled, picking up their backpack and slinging it around their shoulders. “Hey, I was only joking. But seriously, don’t forget to invite us to your wedding.”

 

Perry followed suit, looping her book bag around her elbow. “And if you need anything, you can always come to me. Condoms, lube, dental dams, you name it. It’s all in my room for residents to use. Safety first.”

 

As they left, Laura clawed her fingers through her hair, muttering to herself and hoping no one else could see how beet-red her face was in that moment.

 

“Worst. Crush. Ever.”

 

***

 

“You seriously enjoy these kinds of movies?” Laura winced as yet another spurt of blood gushed across the screen.

 

“Yeah,” Carmilla replied nonchalantly. “They’re entertaining.”

 

“I don’t get how anyone can get a kick out of meaningless violence and blood and guts.”

 

She peeked back at the screen out of the corner of one eye, but not for long. A shrill shriek escaped from her mouth at the same time as the actress on screen and Laura flinched away from the gruesome image. Before she could even register what she was doing, Laura had buried her face against Carmilla’s neck.

 

She couldn’t hear anything other than the sound of revving chainsaws coming from the laptop in front of her, but with her forehead pressed against the other girl’s throat, she could feel from the vibrations that Carmilla was laughing.

 

“Scared, creampuff?” Carmilla asked once the movie grew quiet again.

 

“S-startled, that’s all,” Laura murmured, still nestled against her roommate.

 

Carmilla’s fingers crept up to caress Laura’s hair, and she twitched. But with each stroke of the girl’s hand, she felt her heart rate calm.

 

“We don’t have to keep watching this if you don’t want to,” Carmilla offered.

 

“No, that’s okay,” Laura refused, reluctantly pulling away from Carmilla and stiffly sitting beside her. “You sat through hours of _Adventure Time_ for me, now it’s my turn to endure _Chainsaw Chaos 3: Chain of Chaos_ for you. We made a deal.”

 

Carmilla reached forward, pressing the spacebar on Laura’s laptop with a single tap of her finger, and the video paused. “Laura, it’s okay. Really,” Carmilla reassured her. “I hate to admit it, but ... the cartoons grew on me over time. It’s clear that this film isn’t doing the same for you. I’ll finish it by myself later.” She closed the tab. “Come on, let’s watch something else.”

 

They settled on watching Buffy the Vampire slayer for the rest of the night. It was the only logical choice—not as violent as _Chainsaw Chaos 3_ but still enough blood to keep Carmilla invested, and watching something familiar to Laura certainly helped take her mind off of the gore they had watched earlier.

 

She wondered if Carmilla would fall asleep in her bed again like she had the last time they’d stayed up late together, but before she knew it, the episode had ended and Carmilla was beginning to slip out of the top bunk. Laura nearly stopped her, nearly asked the girl to stay for one more episode, or to sleep beside her once more, but she let the girl swing her legs over the side of the bed and onto the ladder.

 

“Good night, Carm,” Laura whispered as her roommate began to climb down to the floor.

 

“Goodnight, cutie,” she said, but paused her descent once she had climbed down far enough to be face to face with Laura again. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you from any chainsaw-wielding psychos. They won’t get to the top bunk without having to get past me first.” Carmilla said with a wink, then she was gone, much to Laura’s disappointment.

 

Laura lay awake for a long time that night. But it wasn’t the disturbing scenes of the horror movie that kept her awake. No matter how scary that film was, having feelings for her roommate was even scarier.

 

***

 

After that night, they settled into a comfortable routine. On most evenings, Laura would invite Carmilla up to the top bunk—if she wasn’t already there to begin with—and they’d watch _Buffy_ until one of them (usually Laura) got tired. At that point, Carmilla would shimmy back down the ladder and they’d fall asleep in their separate beds.

 

But everything remained completely platonic. At least, that’s what Laura kept telling herself. Surely it was platonic when Carmilla inched closer and closer to her throughout the evening until she was practically resting on top of Laura under the blankets. Obviously best buddies braided and played with each other’s hair the way Laura did to Carmilla’s long black waves. And of course it meant nothing other than good, old-fashioned friendship when Carmilla pressed what felt like a ghost of a kiss to the top of Laura’s head just before she slipped out of bed one night. Right?

 

“Huh?” Laura snapped out of her thought at the sound of Carmilla’s voice.

 

“I asked you if you were still awake,” Carmilla said, nudging her. “You’re never this quiet when we watch _Buffy_ , I assumed you’d fallen asleep.”

 

“No, I’m definitely awake,” Laura argued. How could she not be wide awake with Carmilla’s hand stroking up and down her forearm? She could burst into flames at any second.  

 

“Okay, well, do you want to watch another episode? Because if you’re getting tired, then I’ll just...” Carmilla began to wriggle out from under the covers.

 

“No!” Laura protested, a little too eagerly. “Let’s keep going, we’re finally getting to my favorite part of this season.”

 

“Alright then, cupcake. But if you fall asleep again I’m not rewinding for you like I did last time.”

 

As it turned out, one more episode was just long enough to nearly knock both of them out. They had reached the point where Laura’s computer stopped playing episodes automatically, but neither of them had bothered to resume the show again. Laura hadn’t even noticed that they’d been laying together in silence for over ten minutes.

 

“I guess I’m gonna go back to my own bed now, cutie.” Carmilla began to extricate herself from the blankets as she usually did each night. This time, however, rather than let her go, Laura found herself grasping onto Carmilla’s wrist.

 

“Stay,” she whispered before she could stop herself.

 

Carmilla hesitated for a moment. “You want to watch another?” She asked, her voice sleepy and slow. “I don’t think I can stay up for much longer.”

 

If Laura were more awake, she’d have teased her night-owl roommate for actually being tired. But all she could do was shake her head. “Sleep here,” she said softly.

 

The other girl didn’t say anything, but she didn’t leave, either. She simply lifted Laura’s laptop off of the bed and stowed it away in the storage pouch that hung over the bunk’s side rails. Then, still without a word, she slipped back under the covers and returned to her original spot beside Laura. Before long, she had moved even closer until her head was tucked underneath Laura’s chin. Laura gingerly placed an arm around Carmilla’s waist, and before long, she had fallen asleep, enthralled by the scent of her shampoo and the warmth of her body.

 

***

 

When Laura woke up, she was surprised to find that Carmilla had remained in her bed the whole night. The girl was still in a deep sleep, burrowed under the covers and cuddling even tighter against Laura than she had been hours ago.

 

It was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the little tug in her heart that seemed to appear at each sight of her roommate deep in slumber. She just couldn't help but feel a pang of adoration at the way Carmilla’s eyebrows furrowed as if she were deep in thought just as she was when she was awake, and the way her wild hair tangled in every direction on the pillow, black against yellow.

 

Gently, Laura shifted, trying her hardest to separate herself from Carmilla’s body without waking the girl, but her attempts yielded no success. At the slightest hint of movement, Carmilla stirred and woke as well. “G’morning, cutie,” she purred, her voice raspy. She stretched in a way that was very reminiscent of a cat, then propped herself up on her elbow to face Laura.

 

“Good morning, Carm,” she responded, hoping her roommate would mistake her bashfulness for sleepiness. “How’d you sleep?”

 

“Comfortably,” Carmilla stated, her eyes closing and a smile appearing on her lips. “You?”

 

“Great!” Laura squeaked, her voice even quicker and more high pitched than usual. “That makes two of us.”

 

“Like I said, I’m a top bunk kind of girl. There's just something about being up here...”

 

Maybe sleeping next to Carmilla had somehow transferred some of her cockiness to Laura by a sort of strange osmosis, or maybe the logical, sensible part of her brain was still asleep, but Laura blurted the first thing on her mind. “Hey, so I was thinking,” she began, “we both really like the top bunk. It’s pretty clear you’re not gonna give up fighting for it, and I’m obviously not going to back down... and, well, we both fit up here and can sleep comfortably side by side, so maybe we... can share it?”

 

Carmilla smirked, giving her shoulders a little shrug. “I suppose. To be honest, I’m certainly enjoying our current sleeping arrangement.”

 

“Great! Let’s keep sleeping together!” The familiar prickle of embarrassment creeped along Laura’s face until she flushed red as she realized what she had just said. She forced a smile and hoped her roommate hadn't caught on to the innuendo.

 

But by the look on Carmilla’s face, Laura was certain she had. “Sure thing. See you tonight, creampuff,” she said, slipping out of the top bunk and shuffled off to the bathroom.

 

As soon as she heard the water of the shower begin to run, Laura let out a groan. She rolled onto her stomach, face-planting against her yellow pillow, only to met with the realization that it smelled exactly like Carmilla. What the hell had she just gotten herself into?

 

***

 

Regularly sharing a bed with Carmilla proved to be not nearly as difficult as Laura predicted. Their nightly routine hardly changed at all–their evening activities remained relatively the same, aside from the fact that they had now branched out to reading books together as well as watching shows. Then of course came the only significant difference to their nighttime ritual--when it came time for them to go to bed, they simply put away Laura’s laptop or whatever book Carmilla had been reading to them both, curled up close to each other, and drifted off to sleep.

 

It was absolutely absurd, Laura knew that for a fact. Laf and Perry kept telling her so, and she couldn't help but agree. But it also felt _right_. Carmilla turned out to be a bit of a blanket hog, but Laura slept better than she had all semester. Carmilla seemed to be sleeping better too, if her shift in personality was any indication. Sure, she would occasionally complain about Laura mumbling in her sleep, but their quarrels had stopped completely. It was hard for Laura to believe that this was the same obnoxious girl who barged into the room months before.

 

The bottom bunk had been abandoned for sleeping entirely, and before long was converted into a makeshift extra closet where Carmilla’s books and clothes piled up (although Laura had, to no avail, suggested they make it into a blanket fort for watching movies and doing homework).

 

Laura’s favorite part of the arrangement was by far the way they'd wake up tangled together. Even on nights where they began with several inches of space between them, they'd gravitate toward each other in their sleep and wake up spooning, or with one resting her head on the other’s shoulder. And they’d stopped shying away from each other once they woke up, especially on the weekends, when their lack of obligations allowed for extra time to cuddle.

 

It seemed that at any given moment they’d make up the most mundane excuses to remain wrapped in each other’s arms; an “it’s freezing in here” from Laura, an “it’s too early to get up” from Carmilla. Laura had even selfishly pretended to still be asleep as an excuse to not let go.

 

Still, she found it difficult to make sense of her feelings throughout the deal. Even with her attraction to Carmilla growing harder to ignore, there was a part of her that wouldn’t allow herself to embrace it wholly. Their bed-sharing deal was merely that—sharing a bed, nothing more, and getting her hopes up would be foolish. It would probably ruin whatever progress she and Carmilla had made in their friendship

 

Even now, with Carmilla laying on her back besides her, practically glued to her from her hips to her shoulders, she felt a pang of sadness rush through her. The scene felt so domestic, the way Carmilla quietly flipped through her book while Laura scrolled through her Twitter feed as her eyelids grew heavy, engulfed in the warmth of the other girl. She couldn’t help but long for it to be _more_. More contact, more closeness, more... Carmilla.  

 

She snapped out of her fantasy at the sensation of the mattress jostling slightly as her roommate rolled over to put away her book. Laura followed her lead, reaching over the girl to place her phone in the storage pocket beside Carmilla’s book.

 

Instead of moving back to her original supine position, Laura remained on her side, facing Carmilla, her arm lingering, hovering over her roommate. Gently, she set it down on top of the other girl’s waist. “Good night, Carm,” she said softly, staring into her deep brown eyes.

 

“Good night, cupcake,” Carmilla replied, her face mere centimeters from Laura’s.

 

Normally, this would be the part where one of them would flip the switch on the small reading lamp that clipped onto the bunk and they would pull the covers up and drift off to dreamland. But neither of them did that. Instead, they both moved forward, closing the small gap between their faces until their lips met.

 

Their noses bumped and their mouths clashed awkwardly at first. They nearly missed each other’s lips altogether, but a moment later they had found each other properly. The first kiss itself lasted only a few seconds, with both of them shying away hesitantly.

 

“Wh.. what  are you...” Laura stammered. But before she had a chance to finish her sentence, their lips had aligned once again, this time with more fervor and more precision. Soon a trembling hand was reaching up to trace against her jawline, while Laura’s hand gripped tighter to Carmilla’s waist, grasping her t-shirt.

 

Laura’s head spun. She was completely drunk off of kissing Carmilla, lost in the way the other girl tugged on her lower lip and tangled her hand in her hair. And just like that, they parted once more, both needing air.

 

“Kissing you,” Carmilla answered, just slightly short of breath.”I hope that’s okay.”

 

Laura had never seen the girl so vulnerable and shy before. “Of course,” she reassured, bringing a hand up to smooth Carmilla’s messy hair. “I’m just... a little caught off guard.”

 

“That good, huh?”

 

Laura giggled in response to how soon Carmilla had snapped back to her usual sassy self, and she leaned forward to peck the other girl on the lips. She just couldn't help it. “Come on, you know what I mean. I just wasn’t expecting you to kiss me, that’s all,” she explained.

 

Carmilla’s eyebrows furrowed. “Wait, after the weeks we’ve spent sleeping in the same bed and cuddling every night, it really didn't occur to you that... you know what, you’re an idiot,” she said, smirking.

 

Laura nudged her shoulder. “Quit teasing me or I’ll kick you out of this bed.”

 

“You wouldn’t dare.”

 

“Wanna bet?”

 

Carmilla pouted. “Okay, fine. I’m sorry for calling you an idiot. What can I do to make it up to you?”

 

Laura grinned. “Oh, I have a few ideas about that,” she flirted, trailing her fingers across Carmilla’s collarbone.

 

“Like what?”

 

“You could kiss me again,” she suggested.

 

“Gladly.”

 

And so, a goodnight kiss became part of their nightly routine. As did a good morning kiss when they woke up the next day, and welcome home kisses when they returned from classes, and _just because_ kisses whenever they felt like it.

 

Transitioning to a romantic relationship proved to go far more smoothly than Laura had ever dreamed of. The only difficult aspect was coming up with a way to tell her friends, but that took care of itself soon enough.

 

It happened nearly a week after their first kiss, on an unusually warm Saturday in November. She and Carmilla had spent the better part of the late morning covered by blankets and little else, tuckered out after exerting most of their energy not long after they had woken up. There had been many firsts that morning, sugh as discovering the hard way in the midst of their activities that the top bunk’s proximity to the ceiling increased the dangers of hitting one’s head during said activities, unfortunately for Carmilla.

 

They remained in bed for a long while after that, wrapped in each other, with Laura running her fingers through Carmilla’s hair, making sure to be extra gentle around where Carmilla had bumped her head. Carmilla returned the favor by gently kissing soft apologies against the reddish-purple bloom of bruises that spread along Laura’s neck and shoulder.

 

Suddenly, the door swung open. Laura frantically reached for the blankets to cover her body as Lafontaine barreled into the room, shouting “Wake up, Frosh! You’ll never believe what I just–”

 

They never finished their sentence. As soon as Carmilla poked her head out from under the covers to glare at Laf, they burst into a fit of giggles. Before long they were howling with laughter, tears streaming down their face. “Holy shit, this is far more important than what I was just about to tell you,” they said between laughs. “Perry owes me twenty bucks.”

 

“Laf, what the hell?” Laura groaned, slithering back under the covers until her blushing face was completely hidden.

 

“Can't you see we’re busy?” Carmilla growled.

 

“I just have... one question for you,” Lafontaine wheezed, barely able to speak. “If you're both in the top bunk, which one of you is the bottom?” They asked, exploding into another long fit of cackles.

 

“ _Get out!_ ” Laura and Carmilla shouted in unison.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I've had this prompt in my head for a loooong time so it's nice to finally get it out there. 
> 
> Special thanks to the folks at Silas Library Club for the motivation and advice as I was writing this! 
> 
> As always, you can find me on tumblr as ukulelekatie, twitter at ukulele_katie, and instagram at ukulelekatie.


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